Thieves of the Raven
by ImpastaMan
Summary: Thief!Italy AU Feliciano has been offered a place in the Thieves of the Raven next to his brother with his progressing age, and is determined to make the best performance he can. Though things can't always go his way and in his lack of skill, being caught is inevitable. Possible Gerita, PruHun, Spamano etc. [DISCONTINUED...MAYBE]


1851

Venice, Italy.

.

"I can do this," I chanted beneath my breath, the words sliding off my tongue and into the bitter winter air; creating a small frosty cloud. My heels were starting to ache as I had been crouching for a while, stalling the outcome of what I was about to do. I didn't want to, I was quite content with stealing loaves of bread from local markets or pinching clothes from tailors, however I kept my word to people that I would do this - my word is my bond after all.

I was trying hard to keep my boots steadily on the slate roof beneath my warn boots, my pulse and breaths quickening; the sharp intakes of breath chilling my lungs. The frayed and tattered scarlet scarf that I held so dearly to me felt as if it was tightening around my neck, strangling and cutting my breath. I glanced up, seeing a dark figure perched upon a building in the distance, watching me with judgemental eye's. I had to do this or else I'd be a failure, and that was something I'm not.

I'm not a failure.

A dash of wind flew past me, kissing my rough skin and freezing my features. Physically, I couldn't feel my face one bit yet mentally it felt as if all of time had froze. Two Guards. That was all, it wasn't much right? Big brother always spoke of tales how him and a well known partner, Armani had taken down nearing 15 soldiers once while supplying us with our monthly food stock. I always admired my Big brother, he was always so brave and courageous; never one to back out from a fight. I wanted to be like him, but to do that would mean fulfilling what it means to be a member of my partnership. Lifting my scarf up to cover my thin pale lips, I hauled myself with a hesitant hand taking in another sharp breath.

The distant huffing of horses had gotten closer, reminding me of my aim. All I had to do was get a horse and run. Commit the perfect crime, be undetected. I had my doubts, since getting away with a 1000 Pound running machine undetected would have its struggles. Squinting my eyes, I got a better description of the appearance of the two Guards, fairly built with heavy armour. It'd be hard to chase them off if they caught up to me. Soon enough, I had a pretty clear picture of what I was dealing with. The two Guards who were Guarding the stables (Or rather the general area) were two moderately tall men, a blond and an Albino. My eye's had widened upon confirming that fact, it _was_ an Albino; I'd never seen one before so it was pretty shocking to me. Though another thing captured me, a chalky mare spotted with brown caught my eye, she looked pretty fast; a good escape plan.

I shook my head, glancing back at the figure who seemed to be getting tired of my usual scepticism. One foot in front of the other. Easy, I'd done it countless times before. My feet glided across the thin metal poles that jutted from outside the slender buildings, their structure coated with a thin frosty layer of ice. I had been warned before-hand to not stare downward, to let my instincts guide me as they knew best; though I found that difficult to believe. I always made sure I landed firmly on the target, making sure I was supported and stable.

Brother has spotted flaws in this and constantly nagged me for it, for one it was majorly time consuming and put me at higher risk of capture. Though I kept my head high; metaphorically of course. But now at this point I had scaled halfway down the wall successfully, delicately placing my feet on the stubs of copper brick. I had calculated in advance where I could climb, one, two, three...wait where did this fourth one come from? By that time it was too late to change plans, I had already slipped and the glacial surface beneath me didn't help. The severed gloves that covered my battered hands had lost their grip on the wall, promptly causing me to fall backwards. The wind snatched my breath, my entire body coming in collision with the brisk slab roof.

This could cost me my life - a lesson learnt hard.

Though luckily thanks to the complex design of the structure, my hands grasped onto a small statue nearing the lining at the top where the sides met. A pent up sigh that I had been restraining for too long had been released, my pulse racing to unbelievable heights.

Apparently I must've not made much noise since looking down I hadn't disturbed either officer at all and frankly, I was quite impressed with myself. Composing finally, my tentative eye's locked back with the shadow focused upon me. Although the silhouette was just a figure in the dark, I could tell it was unimpressed with my performance so far.

"Compose yourself, you can do this." I spoke to myself often in many a situation, no matter the danger. Though I can't really speak much for myself when it comes to danger, this had to be my most dangerous task to date; and getting caught could mean the consequences could be fatal.

Examining my situation I came to a quick conclusion I didn't have much time. Someone ought to spot me and hand me in, a lanky young-adult desperately trying to regain balance on the stables with a scabbard clipped to his slightly-too-big belt? Fairly suspicious to any common man.

With one swift action I flipped onto my back and slid down, finally finding a use for this terrible weather the season had brought upon the city. Just as I reached the edge, I flipped to my stomach again while gripping the edge of the roof; my muscles tensing with apprehension. Though my plans of being inconspicuous were foiled when my entire frame struck into the side of the building, obviously disturbing horses since their huffs of disrupted tranquillity caught the Guards attention. _They caught the Guards attention_. Okay, so I was expecting to disturb those Guards sooner or later but not this early, at this rate I'd get caught in a bat of an eye which won't do good for the reputation of Brother, his weak little sibling failing to do a simple task, no wonder I'm so useless to them.

A few mutters were exchanged from the Guards, one having a rather deep voice and the other raspy and harsh. My mind matched each voice to appearance also finding where they were located at, and they were close by the looks of it.

I only had one option, Bail and Run. My hands tightened to the building, their knuckles turning white as my vice-like grip failed to become loose. I felt my scarf tighten around my neck, blocking my air way which allowed only little amounts of air to pass by. It was now or never and I didn't feel like dying today, not yet anyway.

My hands gave in at that point, the feeling of my already battered gloves tearing against the copper-work was not a pleasant feeling along with my feet coming with intense impact with the concrete causing me to make a loud and echoing sound from the stables and onward. Doubt I could pass that off as any horse. I could hear blades skimming the sheaths, the pounding of heavy armour gradually getting louder and louder, closer and closer, perfectly matching my racing pulse. At that point, I snapped. I wasn't prepared to die and years of slipping under Guards radars' I was sure to be able to get past a mere 2 Guards right? Hopefully. My hand subconsciously reached for the hilt of my sword, only to find it...missing. A sinking feeling swelled in my stomach, I must've lost it somewhere on the roof after that fall however, I do have backup plans; I'm not that easily foiled.

A small smirk spread across my lips, peeking my way round the wall. They did notice me, however could not find the location or source of sound, that I was grateful for it had left me enough time to get away. But there was one small problem, my intended mare I was going to snatch was too far away on the other side and plus that colossal and intimidating Guard looked like he'd show no mercy if he caught me. The other on though, seemed like he couldn't care less. He was propped up on the farther side along with the other Guard, seeming to be adjusting the cluttered armour he slugged around with. The blond had his sword drawn, seeming to be nagging at the smaller male who replied with the flick of his wrist, his sword loosely hanging in his hand as if he'd drop it.

This wasn't going as planned, however it wasn't failing. I knew I'd get some critics and possibly a scolding when I was done, though I was up to endure that and keep my pride. I looked down at my figure, I was shaking slightly and exhausted. The pain was setting in from that fall as my entire body was aching from impact, Minor setback. I peered round again to look at my options of horses, it didn't have to be immaculate and of perfect performance but I had to get away with it.

A sharp chill ran past me again, cutting off my breath in surprise. The quick dash made me shiver, adding to my violent shaking and numbing most of my features further if it was possible. A glance at the steeds and I had already chosen my target, hiding behind the wall with my back pressed up against it. A small cloud of frost got caught in the cloth around my mouth, warming up my lips somewhat. Though my head was pounding, the overpowering beating ceasing my hearing abilities to a certain limit that I could only hear the odd hoof of a horse. My breathing pattern was shallow and rapid, the sharp intakes of breath restraining much air. Though I had to get going, that red eyed man was coming over this way and at that rate he'd surely catch me, no matter what my first impression was of him his job was to Guard this city and I'm the culprit here.

Without hesitation, I swung my body round and dashed up the front, my eye's focused as at this point I had to trust what I saw more than what I heard as the beating pulse had halted my hearing for a while. The Guard widened his eye's in shock, yelling something that I couldn't make out from his lips and didn't have time to. Within the few seconds I had while he was yelling, I had managed to swing my foot round and knock the hefty blade from within his loose grip, only managing to make out the faint clanking noise when it came in contact with the floor. It also had put him in a state of shock, leaving him completely unable to do any more damage toward me or go back to grab the weapon. Leaving quite proud of myself, the third horse up had a bust lock on the gate which left it easy to open. I had noticed this when the identical pattern of all the stables had faulted within that, making it my only option at the time. The other Guard had been notified at the yelling of the other, my hearing finally setting back in and a dull growl seemed to be emitting from the taller man. I smashed open the gate to the stable, hauling myself on the horse and letting out a loud roar of courage, thrusting my entire body forward. My entire force in the strength of the reins and hitting my heels inward to set him off.

A light shower had started gently pattering along the streets of Venice, navigating my way around them with the steed's hooves pounding on the damp concrete. Sparks of water flew behind us, my head constantly twisting round to check the Guards location. They were gaining on me, getting too close for my liking. I let out another roar, causing my scarf to fall from my jaw which shut off my breath for a few seconds. Using common sense a lot of people in the way had moved however those too stunned by the events in front of them inevitably got ran over. It stalled the men behind me, their own horses' catching up to mine. He was slow, a bad choice for me to have picked; however my only choice at the time, unfortunate for me though I'd have to make do. I sped him up, sharply turning a corner and shaking my hair to move the settled hair matted against my forehead to the now bashing rain. I couldn't see much in front of me at all, only an arms extent which made my stomach turn in unfamiliar and unpredictable ways.

The rain only became heavier and dragged me down, my ripped clothes becoming unbelievably wet and it numbing parts of my skin. I soon came to the realization just of how much trouble I was in, I had no way of defending myself and I was aimlessly roaming Venice without a clue where to go. I had thought someone would've helped me by now as many other Guards had been called on to the chase, more than I could count. I had to take risks, a plan formulated in my head and I came to the conclusion that there was only a small chance it could work; but I'm willing to take that risk. We came to a narrow alleyway, houses being visible along with their perplexing brick work and designs. I calculated just how long I had, a few minutes until I'd have to take another corner so this could work.

My body was shaking with anxiety, lifting my feet slowly out the stirrups I brought them up to the saddle, balancing them on it as I gradually stood. The horse was going at an incredibly fast speed, more than anticipated as my balance wavered. Through my peripheral vision I could just see the ending of the alley, I was close and I couldn't turn back now.

I jumped as high as I could manage, my right hand frantically grabbing onto the edge of a windowsill and I hauled myself up, finding a simple route to the top of the roofs. My lips were trembling and my breathing became quick again, my teeth gritting together and rubbing against each other making a unpleasant gritting sound. My hands felt on fire, my digits aching with every movement as I made my way to the top. Why the _hell_ are these buildings so high? I misplaced my feet every so often, knocking me down a few bricks while my ears were deafened by the violent shouting of Italian orders from the many Guards below me. My mind suddenly snapped, pulsing my entire body and ascending upward swiftly. The thought of inevitably dying right here was too much for me to imagine, it angered me to an extent showing just how wimpy I would be dying for a situation like this. I swung my leg up over the top, finding that I hadn't paid attention to my route at all and somehow had managed to get up without injury. Weird.

I was shaking badly, just about all my limbs paralysed and ready to give way. It wasn't over yet, I said to myself - though I guess sometimes even the most agile of people get it wrong. My head lifted up under the rain it with my arms suddenly caged under two gauntlets. Heaving me up which made me let out a groan of agonising pain, my breath slowing down to a unhealthy rate. Everything around me was lost to the rain, my legs finally cramping and giving way; causing me to fall however the Guards held me up. I closed my eyes, a lodge in my throat that I could not be rid of. I gave a half-hearted effort to escape, though it was ceased by the Guard's hands clasping around my arms once more on my strained figure. The rain started to clear up, light patters drenching my hair further while small puffs of air lingered in front of me, I tried to fight. Fight everything. The weariness, the numbness, the thoughts that tortured me to no extent, but it was of no use. I was drunk with fatigue and my entire body went into shut down, leaving my responsibility with the Guards.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do, Feliciano."

* * *

Hopefully there should be more chapters of this, please tell me if you enjoyed it! ...Also yes it is based off Assassins creed. Fight me.


End file.
